Flannery O’Conner wrote, “Anyone who has survived their own childhood has enough writing material for a lifetime.” And that’s just childhood. Then there are the stories we’ve been accumulating until the present moment, via countless journeys through physical, psychological, and metaphorical worlds. In this lively workshop, led by CSU English Professor Emeritus John Calderazzo, you'll discover (or rediscover) that compelling personal stories are floating through and around you all the time, just waiting to be sprung loose. Through examples and writing prompts, we’ll work at identifying some narratives you want to write and help you get started.

This workshop requires a minimum number of participants, so please register below to let us know that you plan to participate.

About John

Award-winning teacher and nonfiction writer John Calderazzo has had his poems, essays, and fiction appear in Audubon, Brevity, Georgia Review, High Country News, Orion, and anthologies such as Best American Nature Writing, Best Travel Adventure Stories, and Reading Colorado: A Literary Road Guide. He’s published two poetry collections and three nonfiction books, including Rising Fire: Volcanoes & Our Inner Lives, about the relationship between volcanoes and human culture. English Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University, he’s won a Best CSU Teacher award and has mentored students who’ve won a Pulitzer Prize, Colorado Book Awards, and dozens of other literary prizes. Much of his writing has been inspired by travel to the Andes and the Amazon, the Himalayas, Thailand, Italy, his own Colorado backyard, and any number of journeys to the interior of The Self.